These principles, he says, are clearly stated in the Bible. Just as important, he believes, is his freedom to preach as he sees fit without government interference.

Like many other conservative Christian pastors, Crimmins is concerned about a bill pending in the U.S. Senate that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the criteria for federal hate crimes.

He worries that it could criminalize preaching against issues including homosexuality, same-sex marriage and abortion, and muzzle pastors in the pulpit.

Crimmins and other like-minded pastors agree that anyone assaulting a fellow human being should be punished. But they believe current laws are sufficient.

Their concerns were a key issue presented at a Houston rally hosted by Rick Scarborough, former pastor of Pearland's First Baptist Church and founder of Nacogdoches-based Vision America, and Alan Keyes, a conservative Republican and former presidential candidate.

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The bill is the latest hot-button issue in Vision America's campaign to elect to public office supporters of its conservative Christian agenda. Scarborough denounced the bill during his Houston visit, calling it an "evil and vicious law."

"If passed, it will make what I'm doing tonight an illegal act," he declared. "If someone hears you, and at the sound of your voice goes out and commits a hate crime, the federal government can secure your broadcast or your sermon, listen and analyze it and decide if you aided and abetted that crime. Are we now like the Soviet Union, where people sit outside and listen to our speech and make sure it fits with the law?"

Scarborough and Keyes have joined forces for Vision America's "70 Weeks to Save America," a series of one-day crusades that began 70 weeks before the 2008 elections. The rallies focus on "biblical and family values and religious liberty" as well as getting church members to vote their values at the ballot box.

Scarborough and Keyes, both passionate speakers, are opposed to homosexuality, same-sex marriage and abortion.

"Lose God, lose freedom, lose faith, lose religion," Keyes shouted at the crowd of about 350 who attended the summer rally at Houston's First Baptist Church. "And that's where we are right now."

Both men want to see the return of prayer in schools and displays of the Ten Commandments on government property.

They believe the country has lost its moral compass, and they encourage pastors to change that by getting out the vote.

"Get registered, get informed, vote and use your influence with people of like mind to do the same thing," Scarborough told local pastors during a recent prayer breakfast in Houston the day after the rally.

"It's a sin for a Christian not to vote," he said. "I do not know why people have such objection to that statement. Everywhere I go, people are accosting me about mixing religion and politics. I mix religion and shopping, I mix religion and sleeping."

Scarborough told the group that he is looking for 140,000 "value voters," whom he defines as voters holding "traditional Christian values that are being challenged." He says he believes such voters are "still the majority."

When he was pastor of Pearland's First Baptist Church, he encouraged his parishioners to vote and run for office if they didn't like local candidates or their views.

Scarborough is proud to be on the front line of the culture war, with his campaigns against liberal judges and the proposed hate-crimes legislation.

"We're seemingly in the right place at the right time," he said.

He argues that the only people who are limited in their free speech are preachers.

"If a preacher gets into the pulpit and calls a candidate a liar or says that he is a multiple adulterer, that is considered politics," he said. "And he might end up losing his nonprofit status. There is a continual threat to chill and silence preachers."

He said Scarborough's tactics of working on the local level can be very effective.

David R. Currie, executive director of Texas Baptists Committed, an anti-fundamentalist group, has clashed with Scarborough in the past and describes him as a "dangerous person for religion."

"The genius of the separation of church and state is what makes America," Currie said. "Religious leaders of any faith that want to institutionalize their personal agenda within the legislative process of the government threaten the very foundation of this country."

Supporters of the bill insist that ministers' rights to free speech are protected under the First Amendment. Scarborough and others are overreacting, they say.

"I'm familiar with him, and I think he has a misguided agenda," said the Rev. Jim Bankston, senior pastor at St. Paul's United Methodist Church. "The world in which we live is no more a threat to religious faith than any other world we have lived in. It's personal and diverse and very well-protected."

"Nothing in the bill talks about impeding speech," Cominsky said. "It talks about violent action and brings attention to the needs of a whole community affected by crime. ... It's not about thought crime; it is about action and violence motivated by hate and bigotry."

Dave Welch attended Scarborough's prayer breakfast. As executive director of the Houston Area Pastor Council, which represents 170 pastors, he worries that inclusion of gender issues will open a Pandora's box.

Welch said many pastors in the African-American community are offended that the hate-crimes bill links beliefs about sexual orientation with racism.